Friday, December 29, 2017

In
my years of doing full-time music ministry, two of the choral pieces I
often used at Christmas concerts were “No Golden Carriage” and “How
Should a King Come?” The texts of both dealt with Christ’s arrival being
unlike that of most kings: little fanfare, no big public celebration,
no fancy clothes, toys or parades.

This line from a
truly ancient advent carol gets at the same theme – the child of humble
beginnings. We use that phrase a lot to describe great politicians and
business-people – those who “pulled themselves up by the bootstraps”
(whatever that means) and became great leaders and visionaries. So it
was to some extent with Jesus.

His rise to leadership
and greatness was by divine design… prophet-foretold, Israel
anticipated. Those prophecies and expectations were for more of an
earthly-kingly entrance and a much more dominating (even militant)
reign. Surprise! God would have none of that. From the very beginning,
he was destined to save his people through peace and goodwill according
to the angels who created the only fanfare.

Humility vs
hubris. It’s a conflict we still encounter. We see it in our leaders…
even among ecclesiastics. Worst of all, many of us have a similar war
raging within us: Am I going to maintain the Christlike characteristic,
or will I be sucked into the worldly vortex of pride? We are too often
drawn to the spotlight of arrogance, egotism and self-importance, rather
than the shadows of servanthood. Service is often trumped by
superiority… even among those who call themselves an FOJ.*

During
these weeks, we do not gather around a fancy, linen-pillowed cradle; we
don’t race to peek through the windows of a golden carriage to get a
quick glance at the most-recently-born ruler; we don’t have camera crews
posted outside hospital doors to alert us of the birth of the next
monarch. No, we gather around straw-filled manger replicas. And I think
we all like it better that way.

Thursday, December 28, 2017

This
is one of the few carols (or hymns for that matter) that has no rhyme
scheme. Have you ever noticed that? It doesn’t lessen the impact. As a
hymn-writer myself, I’ve spent many hours counting the exact syllables
and trying make things rhyme; but when the various translators of this
carol worked out the details, they didn’t find assonance to be
important.

This carol seems to fling wide the gates of
Bethlehem and invite us humans in, encouraging us to come joyfully and
triumphantly to see this thing which has come to pass. Angels are
invited to once again sing their “glory to God in the highest” refrain.
In the final stanza (in most hymnals), we sing, “Yea, Lord, we greet thee,” or in modern English: “Yes, Lord, we welcome you!” That may be MY favorite moment in the carol. And the thought continues with, “Jesus, to thee be all glory given” because you are the “Word of the Father now in flesh appearing.”

Today’s hymnline is a versification of the John 1 passage: “The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory…” I doubt we can truly look upon the holy in any way BUT adoringly… with adoration.

Today
and every day and night throughout the year, let us come adoring Christ
the Lord – the One who comes filled to the brim with grace and truth.
After our adoration, let’s allow him to fill us with both those
attributes. If we would do that, our 2017 would be a whole different
year.

The request to learn to resemble Christ catches my
attention. We bat around so many other terms like reflect, mirror, imitate,
etc., but this is what I want personally: to resemble Christ. When
someone looks at my life, I would love to bear a resemblance to the One I call
Lord.

Most of us resemble one (or both) of our parents; we say
that we “take after them” either physically or in our actions. The way we laugh
may be the exact replica of our mother, or we may have the same voice
inflection of our father. In my part of the country, they would say that I’m
the “spitting image” of my daddy… but that I’m my mama all over again. I’m
happy with that designation and recognition. I remember one time when a perfect
stranger came up to me and said, “You’ve got to be Raymond Huff’s son” – just by
looking at me.

Wouldn’t it be a wonderful thing if someone walked up to you
during this Advent season and said, “You’ve got to be a child of the King.” –
not because you look like Elvis, but because you act like Jesus… you are
Christlike in the way you approach every detail of your dealings with others.

Admittedly, we don’t act-out our Christian faith to BE
noticed, but we must admit it comes as a blessing when someone DOES notice and
says so.

Are you teachable? Is humility something you want to learn?
If so, this is a good time of the year to study the life and teachings of the
One who is displayed in stable-beds all around us. Watch him… emulate him…
glorify him by being a resemblance of who he is!

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

This has been one of my favorite carols since we included it
almost every year in the Christmas Pageants at First Baptist Waxahachie back in
the late 70’s and early 80’s. It’s one of those arrangements that no one ever
said, “Do we HAVE to sing this again this year?” because it significantly
ministered to the choir every time we sang it. Still does, I’d bet!

Today’s hymnline reminds me that way too many people who are
onlookers to the Christmas season are totally unaware that Jesus is Lord. Like
those cows in the stall next to Mary and Joseph (according to the carol, at
least!), these folks observe the season with their partying, decorating,
gift-giving – maybe even church-attending and carol-singing -- but know blessed
little of the true Center of the celebration. Little do they know that the One
whose birth we commemorate moves on from a wooden cradle to a rugged cross in
order to redeem fallen humanity.

Without cramming it down their throats, we need to gently
remind those who observe the season as not-so-innocent bystanders that Christ
the Babe IS Lord. The simple long-standing statement of faith, “Jesus is Lord,”
may be all we have to say… nod, smile and walk away.

During
this season, why not simply say to folks (cashiers, salespeople, bank
tellers, etc.), “It’s my Lord’s birthday, you know.” I have the feeling
more of them will respond with a “Mine, too” than with a snarl of
disapproval.
There are more of US out there than we know.

Wouldn’t it be great to come to the end of the season and there
be no one in our path who is oblivious to Christ being the Lord of all? I guess
we’ll have to do our part to see to it that is the case!

Monday, December 25, 2017

Ever notice how many carols are in 6/8 time? We use
“rollicking” and “lilting” to describe the way their tunes dance along. They
don’t get much more carefree than this tune! At the same time, its words speak
some pretty decent theology!

Most of us may have loved this one as children because it
was our one chance to sing “ass” in church and snicker behind our hands! Newer
hymnals have removed that euphemism and left us with an unlaughable “beast” in
its place.

Today’s hymnline draws a picture for us of what God does as
he sets our redemption into motion: he swings wide the substantial doors that
once upon a time may have separated humankind from the divine… and sets us on
the road from Bethlehem to Calvary to Joseph’s Burial Garden.

Maybe it’s because of the music that accompanies this text,
but something Medieval comes to mind… like from the period in which it was
written. Heavy, heavy castle doors come into my view – maybe even a drawbridge.
And I can almost hear the rumbling as the gates slowly open to reveal all that
awaits… those blessings that are ours forevermore… because Christ is born
today.

It’s a picture worth conjuring up because anything that can
help me ‘see’ what God has done for me in Christ Jesus sticks with me much
longer… especially when that sight is accompanied by music!

Sunday, December 24, 2017

While you join in the singing of familiar carols this
season, I hope you will enjoy the experience; but even more, I want to be sure
you get the message from each one.

A pet peeve of mine is the way we rip apart the meaning of
the Christmas carols by breathing at the wrong place: this is one of them. We
tend to breath between “love’s pure light” and “radiant beams.” We may do that
because we don’t realize that in the translation from the German, we ended up
with an adverb that does not end in ‘ly’! Before this sounds like a grammar
lesson, the phrase should mentally read like the hymnline at the top of this
post, realizing that love’s pure light is radiantly beaming from the holy face
of Christ.

And those beams are like the ones that peep over the horizon
at the rising of morning sun – it’s the dawn of redeeming grace. God provides
us with lots of graces: sustaining grace, fortifying grace, comforting grace,
etc.; but THIS is the beginning of grace that redeems us! We get our first
glimpse of that redemptive possibility in the face of Bethlehem’s Baby.

This entire stanza is addressed TO Christ; that’s why there’s
a comma after “Son of God.” So as we sing this, we’re saying, “Jesus, there’s a
pure light emanating from your holy face, and in that light we can see the
genesis of grace that redeems.”

As you sing this carol or hear it piped into the shopping
mall… or Wal-Mart!... realize what it is saying, and rejoice in that knowledge.
For those of us who believe Christ to be the Son of God, this should be one of
our very favorite hymnlines during the season!

PS – Not wanting to get off my soapbox on this breathing-in-the-wrong-place
thing, another place we miss the meaning is in the first, most familiar stanza.
Read the whole line to yourself without breaking: “All is calm all is bright ’round
yon virgin mother and child.” Around that virgin mother and her child,
everything is calm and bright. Makes so much more sense, don’t you think? I’m
stepping off my soapbox… for now.

Saturday, December 23, 2017

Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)
Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

This
carol by a French poet and French composer was translated into English
by an American Unitarian music critic just before the Civil War. That’s
the background; now to the heart of the carol.

I thought this one was appropriate for this blog since it includes the word “hymn.”

One
of the reasons I have a lot of trouble doing hymnlines regularly during
the Advent/Christmas season is because so many traditional carols
simply deal with events and characters from the first Christmas; you can
only expound so much on angel appearances, magi arrivals and
over-crowded cities with hay-filled cattle stalls.

“Sweet…
joy… grateful” – wonderful words that sum up this season, don’t you
think? We join in a grateful chorus to express our hymns of joy… our
SWEET hymns of joy. Nothing saccharin about this kind of carol-singing…
no Splenda, only splendid music! There is, in other words, no substitute
for music that bubbles forth from the lips of children and child-like
adults who celebrate their faith through song.

Queued
at the register at Target, bustled about in the shopping mall, harped on
by some church Scrooge: in all these situations, I hear the voice of
Hedy (my mother) saying, “Now Ronald George, you be sweet.” Mustering
all that is within me, I try to obey that long-ago-spoken directive.

Need a lift during the next seven days? Raise a song. Lift a carol. Be grateful. Be sweet!

Friday, December 22, 2017

This
is one of few “standard” Christmas carols written by an American. There
are lots of contemporary ones, of course, but of those we’ve sung in
church for years, this one is sort of unique – not being from the
British, French or German traditions!

I absolutely love
this hymnline because it describes so very well how Christ continues to
enter the lives of humankind, just like he did in Bethlehem’s barn.

How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is giv’n.So God imparts to human hearts the blessings of his heaven.

In
this text, the word “so” means “in the same way.” In other words, God
gives out his blessings in the same way he sent Jesus into the world:
silently.

When redemption is poured into our lives, it
is indeed a silent process. WE realize the warming, but the person
sitting right beside us is totally unaware that it has occurred. In the
same way that Christ was quietly ushered into the world (pre-angelic
hosts at least!), that same Christ by his Spirit is escorted into
waiting, open hearts. No fanfare. No earthquake. In great tranquility.

In
governmental parlance, we often talk of the “peaceful transfer of
power.” In church-speak, that is what actually happens: the power of God
is peacefully transferred into our lives. How silently the wondrous
gift is given.

Be silent for a few seconds before you read on.

It
was in that kind of silence that Christ first entered your life. I hope
that is as precious to you as it is to me. On the other hand, unless we
tell them, the person right next to us won’t know it happened. A silent
act can be communicated by a verbal witness.

Thursday, December 21, 2017

Meanwhile back at my favorite carol with a little more Wesleyan theology!

The
God-head – the Trinity – Father, Son, Holy Spirit – Parent, Child,
Presence. However you express it, the God-head is all there is of God…
the entirety of his essence. And here, Wesley calls on us to look upon
the flesh-encased depiction of all that God is! Skin, draped over the
totality of the Divine. Now, that should give us pause!

The incarnate Deity is in our midst, and we should offer him his due: the highest, most-sincere praise. “Hail, King Jesus!”

During these last days of Advent, don’t miss seeing/realizing that incarnation!

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

This is my favorite Christmas carol. Charles Wesley
had a way of putting his theology into poetry that still makes sense, long
after his pen left the paper. His hymns almost always get at the heart of the
gospel, and this one is no exception.

Today's hymnline tells us that Christ was “pleased as a man with
us to dwell.” It was his pleasure to step from heaven to earth, to take on
flesh, to live among humankind. I don’t think he and the Father had to come to
some kind of deal or that he left heaven kicking and screaming.

As the Philippian Hymn says: “Christ, being
in very nature God, did not consider equality with
God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.And being
found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient…”
Taking on human likeness, appearing as a man, humbling himself, obeying,
becoming a servant. Emmanuel. God WITH us.

And loving every minute of it – taking
great delight in living among those whom his Father had created and placed on
the earth.

Tuesday, December 19, 2017

If you're a regular reader of my blog, I cycle this one through every year about now... because it gets true-er!

This
one is for all of you who are just worn out from Christmas shopping,
party-going, church-concerting --who need a rest period… a time out… to
regroup and get back into the
spirit of Christmas.

Have you even noticed when you’re
at Big Lots picking up those gifts for the most-special people on your
list, the expressions on the faces of the shoppers are not like they
always appear in old movies and Old Navy commercials? Shopping centers
are nothing like those happy sappy songs we’ve sung in our Christmas
programs over the years; it’s hard to find shoppers rushing home with
their treasures singing “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.”

That’s
too bad, but it’s a part of our culture that we’re not going to be able
to change, so we just accept it and join the flow of jam-packed
hallways in the local malls. I also find that shopping online wears me
out, too!

Take a load off. Find a bench. Put away your
shopping list. Listen to the holiday music being piped in or performed
live by the local elementary school choir. Take a deep breath. Settle.
Maintain. Be quiet. Rest amid the hectic rush and listen to the whisper
of God’s message of peace on earth with goodwill to all. Imagine angel
voices singing gloria in excelsis Deo.

Allow the
slowing down moments of the season to be cathartic for your weary soul.
Listen for the brush of angels’ wings, see the glory of God on each
face… because surely the presence of the Lord is with us in this place.
Emmanuel.

Today’s promise to yourself: I will rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.

Monday, December 18, 2017

“Heads up!” Don’t put it off. “Look now!” This seems to be a
call to immediate response to the sound of angels’ wings… and the words they
sing/say.

This stanza of the carol is addressed to all who find
themselves beneath the crushing load of life, whose bodies and spirits are
drooping under the weight of the struggles. Perhaps these encumbrances are the
result of a birth defect or a disease, of their own bad decisions/sins, of the ‘cards
they were dealt’ early on in life. Maybe they are overloaded with the problems
of others – family members, friends, coworkers. Whatever has brought them to
their knees, they feel like they are always on an up-hill trek, that every step
is painful, and the progress is slow. I think we get the picture. In fact, it
may be a picture of ourselves.

With heads hanging low, we are given hope that the better
(glad and golden) hours are ahead because for unto us a Child has been born.
Look up… now… and realize it. Be lifted from your bloodied knees to stand again
complete. The Great Physician now is near; the newborn King comes to lift up the
fallen, heal the sick and restore the weak.

This reassurance came upon the midnight clear two centuries
ago, and it rings just as true today. Perhaps it’s just the word of hope we
need to hear today.

Friday, December 15, 2017

Carol: “O Holy Night” –Translated from the French by John S. Dwight (1813-1893)

Tune: CANTIQUE DE NOEL (Adolphe Adam)

When
the grown-up Jesus said, “Love one another,” it was not a suggestion;
it was a command – a law, if you please. He had every expectation that
his followers would live up to this directive.

With our
government’s laws, for most of us these have become second nature.
Because we were taught them in driver’s ed, the laws of the road stuck
with us: we observe the speed limit (for the most part!), we signal
before we turn, we maintain a safe distance behind the car in front of
us, etc. We are instinctively law-abiding citizens; following the rules
has become one of our characteristics.

So it should be
with this mandate from Christ. “Truly he taught us to love one another.
His law is love, and his gospel is peace.” When loving our fellow-humans
becomes our inherent behavior, we will have begun to obey this law, and
in turn, we will have become more Christ-like. In reality, we will also
be happier people because we will be living out the gospel of peace.

Thursday, December 14, 2017

We have innumerable blessings, you and I. It's an inexhaustible
list. Do you see
how those blessings pile up? That’s a blessing in itself!

This Isaac Watts carol is really a re-versification of Psalm
98; if you read that Psalm, you’ll see the parallels. Today’s hymnline follows
the phrase, “No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground.”
In place of the infestation of these negative aspects of life, “He comes to
make his blessings flow (as) far as the curse (of sin) is found.”

There are many reasons Christ came; we could grab a
legal pad and start making another list! But one of them is to replace the curse of
sin with the blessings of himself – so that his blessings might flow into and
through our lives… for our own edification and for those around us who may
still be up to their necks, strangled by the thorns of sin and sorrow.

It is a shame when a blessing comes into our lives, stops
there, and goes no further. “Paying it forward” was a Biblical principle long
before it was a movie or a common catch phrase. As the blessing pile higher and
higher, we become hoarders… yea, even Scrooge-like!

Let me give us another challenge for the Advent season:
Because he comes to make his blessings flow, let’s pass along every blessing we
possibly can. Let’s take up the blessing industry and be about our Father’s
business!

Lord Christ, may every blessing that flows into me flow out
of me into someone else. Amen.

Wednesday, December 13, 2017

All
of us deal with pain now and then (physical and otherwise). We all
encounter periods of great sorrow. There are some, it seems who bear
pain and sorrow continuously, rarely escaping the two specters that loom
about them. I experience a certain level of pain and sorrow for people
like that, trying to identify with their station.

Some
people who are dealt pain and sorrow daily respond by becoming angry and
difficult. Others retreat into their own shell and reclusively try to
deal with their dilemma. The ones which always surprise me, though, are
those who rise above the difficulty to be people who praise their Maker
in spite of where they find themselves. These are the folks who neither
complain nor boast but genuinely throw themselves on the mercy of God…
who cast all their cares upon the One who controls all of life – the
good, the bad, and the ugly.

When one of these saints
finally loses their struggle – whose long pain and sorrow is turned to
eternal health and joy – we celebrate their final healing, their moving
at long last into the face-to-face beholding of their Savior.

During
these weeks of preparation for Christmas, be more aware of those who
have long suffered pain and borne sorrow for many years; if you get the
opportunity, encourage them to cast that care upon the Savior whose
birth we are about to celebrate.

Tuesday, December 12, 2017

Catherine Winkworth’s translation of this ancient hymn text
grabs me, reminding me that throughout time, God has presented us with signs of
his promises: the rainbow in Noah’s day, the pillar of fire for Moses’ troops, the
covenant with Abraham, and ultimately revealing himself in THE Sign: the Lord
Christ. It is that revelation that we come to celebrate during this season.

The sending of his Son was the ultimate token of his
everlasting promise to the people of Israel. At Bethlehem’s manger, God is
saying, “See. I keep my word. I always do.” On a nearby hillside the angels
echo the sentiment, “Unto you a Savior is (finally) born” – that Savior you’ve
been anticipating since the beginnings of the covenant relationship God had
with the Jewish nation.

This carol is a great versification of Isaiah 40, opening
with the same statement we find there spoken to the prophet by the Lord: “Comfort, comfort ye my people.” In 40:5, we find the text on which my favorite Christmas chorus from MESSIAH is
based: "And the glory of the LORD shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. For the mouth of
the LORD has spoken it.” It is from THIS passage that today’s hymnline
is lifted; I think you can see the parallels without my going on and on about
them!

These two centuries later, we need to
be reminded of God’s faithfulness; what God says, he will do – eventually,
finally. And even though “Standing on the Promises” is not a song for this
season, that’s exactly what we need to continue to do.

Monday, December 11, 2017

A carol that begins with a question, winds its way through
the manger scene, speaks some theology, calls forth the magi (and us) to bring
him gifts honoring his arrival, and in most editions, ends with this line: "Let
loving hearts enthrone him.”

We all have to ask ourselves during these weeks leading up
to Christmas who we think this is? We find ourselves with the very adult words
of Jesus ringing in our ears: “Who do people say that I am?” That leaves us
wide open for answers like these: the One who ushers in the most profitable
merchandising season every year, the do-gooder of Galilee, the man who healed
people and preached a lot. Ultimately, we are faced with the second half of
that inquiry: “Who do YOU say that I am?” Hopefully it doesn’t take us long to
agree with Peter’s assessment that this baby is the Christ, the Son of the
Living God.

He was that from the beginning, you know – not just after he
began his adult ministry. You might say he was that from the VERY beginning,
but for sure I think we would all agree that from his first earth-breath, he
was the Son of Jehovah.

With it’s repeated “This,
this is Christ the King,” in many ways, this carol could serve as our ‘confession
of faith’ during the Advent season.

May those of us who love our Christ put him in his rightful
place… on the throne of our lives. From there may he rule not only in December,
but all year long.

Friday, December 8, 2017

This
plainsong Advent carol is one of those prayer hymns we’ve discussed
already. In this one, we singers are not only asking Messiah to come; we
are also making several requests of him upon his arrival and upon the
establishment of his Kingdom:

1) Come and cheer our spirits.
2) Disperse the gloomy clouds of night.
3) Send death’s dark shadows away.
4) Bring order to all things.
5) Show us the path of knowledge and lead us in that path.

In
the final stanza, we encounter today’s hymnline. We plead for true
camaraderie of all peoples in compassion and in thought. “Bring us
together,” we pray. “Give a sense of cooperation and agreement. Help us
to accept one another’s differences and make those differences work for
the good of the Kingdom.”

To do that, the envy, strife
and quarrels need to cease. Our praying continues, “Emmanuel, now that
you, O God, are with us, call a cease-fire between the warring factions
worldwide.”

I know this carol has some definite Jewish
overtones – the people of Israel are renewing their belief that Emmanuel
shall come to them. As Christians who are confident that Messiah has
already made his appearance on this terrestrial ball, we make all those
same requests listed above, and we, too, seek commonality of passion and
theology; we, too, have had it with the disagreements that arise within
the church out of anger, envy and strife. Except for the instigators,
nobody likes a good church fight!

As part of a
denomination that has suffered its fair share of disagreement –
especially in recent years – this prayer carol takes on a fuller
significance. When I pray this carol, I mean it: I beg the Good Shepherd
to come to enfold all his children who find themselves at war within
the flock.

For all of us, conflict is on display
worldwide. For some, the conflict may be within their community, their
family, or even within themselves. Wherever they are found, may the
struggles stop and reconciliation reign.

In the
refrain, we are called to rejoice in the promise that Emmanuel continues
to come to our rescue. Ultimately, we will enjoy a worldwide heavenly
peace. Meanwhile, we keep on prayer-singing!

Thursday, December 7, 2017

Leave
it to Charles Wesley to write a hymnline like this one… nestled within
other great statements about who God is, what God does, and what God
deserves. THIS line deals with the latter.

I’m teaching
an Introduction to the Fine Arts class at Dallas Baptist University,
and I absolutely love where my semi-retirement has taken me: into a
college-level classroom on a Christian campus to talk about one of great
passions – art! One of the things I emphasize with these students is
that all art forms CAN be used to honor God. This hymnline supports that
argument – that all the farthest reaches of heaven-given artfulness (or
talent) can be called upon to praise the Lord who reigns above and keeps his court below.

My
students think I’m just way too passionate about the arts. At every
chapter, they hear me say, “Now this may be my favorite art form!” I AM
passionate about the arts because they are lasting examples of
creativity – God’s creative energy passing through the hearts, minds,
feet, hands and mouths of his created ones.

Music is a
powerful art. It is common to every race and every culture. Wesley
encourages us to apply that innate power of music to the unbridled
praise of God.

Today’s hymnline ends with the modifying phrase, “… the music of the heart.”
In order for music or any art form to be acceptable worship, it must
come from the innermost depth of who we are. It must be a sincere,
humble offertory. It must not be a self-aggrandizing display of one’s
talent.

Many of us enjoy and appreciate the arts.
Humanity's creative expression through the arts is one of the ways we
are made in the image of God. It behooves us then to offer them back to
God to honor him. I think he enjoys it when we do.

“All the reach of heavenly art, all the pow’r of music bring.” And I say, “Bring it on!”

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

We
talk a lot about “participatory” worship experiences: everybody jump in
there and participate vigorously! What if we promoted “anticipatory”
worship?

Have you ever thought about anticipation being
a blessing? Well, it is. We have been blessed with the gift of
anticipation... and we emphasize that during the Advent season.

Those
who believe in the providence of God approach every aspect of life with
a sense of expectation – expecting the hand of God to lead them through
the day and the eye of God to be ever-watching, protecting, overseeing
their every move… for their own good and the good of the kingdom.

Indeed,
we anticipate the Kingdom which is yet to come, promised to us beyond
this earthly journey; but if we only anticipate THAT reality, we miss
out on the everyday provisions – those which surround us on THIS trek.

The
next time you sing – corporately or alone – do it with a sincere hope
of that which is yet to come your way… far in the future AND close at
hand. It is that kind of anticipatory worship that truly keeps us going,
confident that God is at work. Go ahead: “Sing with blest
anticipation.”

Tuesday, December 5, 2017

You
probably don’t know that I was an art major when I first entered Carson
Newman College in the fall of 1967. I had a decent ability to draw
things.

When I was being artistic, after completing a
section of a charcoal drawing or have worked in pastels, I took a can of
spray fixative, shook it to hear that little ball bang against the can,
and generously covered the possible-masterpiece so it would not smear
if accidentally touched while I continued to work on it. The process is
called “fixing” the artwork.

We are only three phrases
into the singing of “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling” when this
hymn-line crosses our lips, and because it is so early-on in the hymn,
it may not register in our brain what it is we are singing. When I
speak these words on the nine assigned pitches, I have a flashback to my
art-major days… of being sure I am either outside or in a
well-ventilated room in order not to inhale the fumes from the Krylon
aerosol can. This was BEFORE people actually wanted to inhale fumes like
these!

In the hymning of these words, I am asking God
to cover me in such a way that my faith might not smear – or that the
distinct lines of my belief system might not become indefinite or
undefined. That he might take up residence in my life in such a way
that these cannot be disturbed.

Other hymns use the
word “seal” to mean the same thing, (e.g. “Here’s my heart, O take and
seal it…”) but I’m glad Wesley chose “fix” – a word with which this
artsy person can identify!

Ever since we came to him in
faith, God – the ultimate artist – has been drawing his nature across
the sketch pad of our lives. Everything he has inscribed there has
given us the possibility to be more like him… more like his Son… more
Christ-like. I, for one, do not want any of that to be messed up or
smeared by anything or anyone who would like to make my Christian
experience anything less than beautiful.

God
is making a masterpiece within us. That’s not self- aggrandizing –
that’s the truth! And we want to be sure that beauty is preserved… or
fixed… unlikely to be damaged. That preservation is more likely to occur
if Christ is allowed to take up full-time humble residence at the
center of our lives.

“Fix” can mean to repair something
that is broken or not working properly; but in this case, it means to
keep it from needing to be repaired!

Monday, December 4, 2017

I
grew up in the Baptist denomination, and none of our hymns had the word
“Baptist” in the title! Other denominations, however, often include
this hymn about John the Baptist’s announcing the coming of Messiah; as
the forerunning cousin of Jesus, that was his calling.

Note:
It is important to include the apostrophe after Baptist; otherwise, it
sounds like a whole denomination of immersers is wailing on a river’s
edge!

The stanza in which this hymnline sits says this in total: Let ev’ry heart be cleansed from sin, Make straight for God within, And so prepare to be the home Where such a mighty Guest may come.

Straightening
up the house is something we do when we’re expecting guests -- any
guests… even regular visitors and family members! That may include
hiding some things in the closet, under a bed, or behind the sofa. We
want give the best possible appearance, tidied up as well as we can to
make the visitor feel welcome – even ‘at home.”

Other carols say, “Let every heart prepare him room,” and “O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room…” But
THIS line calls Jesus a ‘mighty Guest.’ I think that means the same
thing as ‘important’ or ‘extra special.’ The mighty Son of the mighty
God is looking for somewhere to take up residence.

Unlike
our usual visitors – however glamorous or significant – we don’t need
to start hiding things! That all-knowing-ness of Christ sees right
through any pretenses we may try to create.

So I suppose this is a season of peace, joy, love, hope… and transparency!

Get your house in order! You may be about to have a Zacchaeus kind of day!

Friday, December 1, 2017

Here is one more hymn centered on being grateful/thankful/appreciative... then we'll move on to Advent.

Our God “who, from our mother’s arms, hath blessed us on our
way with countless gifts of love, and still is ours today.”

"Migrant Mother" Dorothea Lange

Generally speaking, our mothers are our original caretakers.
Good mothers become for their children the very representation of who God is
and how he treats us. This hymnline helps us get that perspective, reminding us
that from our first breath, God has blessed us with innumerable love-gifts… and those love-gifts continue, no
matter how many years we may be removed from those mother-cuddled hours.

We believers are richly blessed as we make our way through
life, and we need to count those blessings. The danger is
that we might begin to consider our blessings as routine, not noticing the
little things with which God seasons our life.

On Thanksgiving Day, most of us had some of the richest,
best-seasoned dishes we’ll have all year long. Those old family recipes on
grease-spotted note cards seem to hold back nothing from the spice rack when it
comes to food preparations for this holiday. Even then, we think to
ourselves, “This tastes so much better than food tastes throughout the rest of
the year,” but we likely give no thought to WHY that is true.

Let’s not overlook those blessings with which our God spices
up our life… those small zests added to our mundane existence. We cannot truly
be a blessing to others until we realize how blessed we are.

Monday, November 27, 2017

This Thanksgiving hymn many of us sang recently opens with “Let all things now living
a song of thanksgiving to God the Creator triumphantly raise.” I actually like
to sing this hymn all year long, not just during the last week of November,
because it is one of those hymns that beautifully describes God in poetry that
is well-constructed.

After listing many of God’s creative, sustaining, redeeming
works, today’s hymnline continues: “We too should be voicing our love and
devotion, with glad adoration a song let us raise.”

We voice lots of songs and expressions of our love for God,
but here we are called on to declare our devotion – our promise,
our pledge, our guarantee.

Olivia Newton John had a hit song in 1978 titled “Hopelessly
Devoted to You” (from GREASE). Most of us can hum it and at least sing the ‘hook’.
For Christ-followers, however, we lift up our commitment to him singing “Hopefully
Devoted to You.”

I also like the phrase “with glad adoration” – not coerced
or forced, but gladly offered up. I am personally delighted to sing great hymns
and songs of the faith… the ones that express my adoration of him who created, re-creates,
sustains and redeems me. I know I am not alone in that; otherwise, you would
probably not be reading this blog.

This week, of all weeks, we SHOULD be voicing our love and
devotion with glad adoration. Sometimes I encourage us to internalize concepts;
this time, let’s verbalize them… voice them… even to strangers.

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Frustration
and discouragement are two of our most formidable foes, and they often
work hand-in-hand. Many times, frustration causes us to expend too much
physical energy trying to ‘fix’ what frustrates us; discouragement
consumes our spiritual/mental reservoir.

Elijah was
overcome by both when he told God, “I, only I am left” on your side.
It’s the way Jonah felt as he sat beneath the worm-chewed vine. This is
probably how the disciples felt when they needed to feed the five
thousand. This is where many of us too often find ourselves.

This
simple truth drawn from the last stanza of one of those gospel songs we
trip through as if nothing is worth recalling – this truth that “God is
over all” is one we are prone to forget, especially on the front-end of
discouragement. Eventually – as though slapped up the side of the head –
we believing-types will come around to the realization that God is in
control, even in overwhelming, frustrating situations.

This
does not free us up to do nothing. Instead, it frees us up to move
ahead with the blessed assurance that God has it all under control, and
we can ease up a little.

I had a minister friend in
Denver who in response to his wife’s ranting-on in frustration would
simply admonish her to “maintain.” It was his way of saying “chill out”
or “keep your cool.” I have at many times brought that word to mind when
trying to settle myself down because I fall prey to frustration and
discouragement with the best of them!

Maintain your
place under God’s canopy of oversight. There, may we all find the peace
that passes understanding; and in that peace may we WITH God work
through our frustrating discouragement.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

This seems to me to be a great description of society… or
the field of humanity owned by God himself. The good, the bad and the ugly
coexisting.

Somehow, we wheat-types sometimes want to get rid of the
tares-type – to set them aside as worthless outsiders… even people without
hope. Jesus knew we were going to do this, so he told a parable in Matthew
13:24-30; this one is right on the heels of the Parable of the Sower which we
know and understand better… although I’m never quite sure we understand
everything Jesus was trying to communicate through these little stories!

"Farmer Sowing" - Charles Henry Granger

In this “Parable of the Weeds,” the hired hands want to go
out and pull up the weeds (tares) from amongst the soon-producing wheat. The
landowner who had planted the field says, “Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I
will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be
burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.”

I see this kind of thing happening
all the time: it’s the us/them mentality. The righteous vs. the unrighteous.
The lost vs. the saved. The good guys vs. the bad. Worst of all, I see this
within the church.

If we follow the Lord’s direction
on this, we will leave the separating of wheat and tares (sheep and goats) up
to him at the harvest time. Meanwhile, we yield fruit… period. That is our
role. Pointing out and pulling up weeds is the role of the One who owns the
field.

Although we sing this hymn at
Thanksgiving (because of the title), the “harvest” allusions are to the final
harvest – as in the Matthew passage above. That’s why the last stanza begins
with “Even so, Lord, quickly come. Bring thy final harvest home. Gather
now thy people in…” Together we thankful people come to say and sing “Maranatha!”
Or for those of us who watch THE PRICE IS RIGHT, “Jesus Christ, come on down!”

Interestingly, “harvest home” is
the name of an English festival celebrating the harvest; it is also a song
they sing as they bring in the sheaves.

So it is good and right that as we
sing this hymn, we should celebrate the harvest of terrestrial crops; at the
same time, we anticipate the heavenly harvest yet to come when we will be
gathered in, purified, and privileged to abide in his presence forever. Even
so, Lord, quickly come.

Friday, November 17, 2017

This
hymnline has probably been the theme of my entire existence… at least
back as far as I can remember. I’ve always found God in music –
especially sung music… music with words. I find him most commonly and
most profoundly in hymn-singing. That should come as no surprise to
those of you who know me well.

I’ve written several
hymn and/or sacred anthem texts over the years with a modicum of success
in having them published. At times, I’ve tried my hand at writing poems
that were not sacred in nature – that did not express anything about my
faith: love songs, patriotic songs, country songs – even an opera
libretto. I couldn’t ever seem to make that work because my music – my
words – seem to be set aside for worship.

When the USA
team had a tiny shot at winning the World Cup in soccer, the frenzy
flooded the airwaves and the print media. One thing I noticed was the
incorporation of a rhythmic, highly-repetitive chant: “I be-lieve that
we will win! I be-lieve that we will win!” Every sports bar in the
country seemed to have taken up this “hymn” to the sport of futbol.

Historically,
when a group shares a common belief, they take up a song to support it.
That’s why countries have national anthems and patriotic songs – causes
have a common song (e.g. “We Shall Overcome”) – and religions… all
religions… incorporate some form of corporate musical expression into
their gatherings.

As you might imagine, I was not
caught up in the soccer eddy, but I am totally committed to expressing
my Christian beliefs in song – chiefly the hymns of my faith. That’s why
I do this blog; that’s why I created the Old Fashioned Singing Project;
that’s why most every Sunday morning with book in hand, I’ll be
somewhere singing… because “in music, Lord, I find you.”

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

This
is one of the most thrilling hymns. To quote Jennifer Lopez from
AMERICAN IDOL, “I get goosies” (goose bumps) every time we hit the final
statement: “Amazing love! How can it be that thou my God should die for me?”

But
today, I want to deal with the opening hymnline – the first words of
the hymn – which ask one of those ponderably profound questions. This is
not one to trip over lightly and not notice the depth of what you are
asking.

This word “interest” is key. It is not used
here as a fascination or curiosity, as in “Isn’t the blood of Jesus just
captivating?” Although that is true, HERE “interest” is more about
apportionment… that we share in the atoning, life-giving flow. “Is it
possible that I might share in the benefits of the Savior’s blood?”
That’s more what is suggested here.

In the banking
world, gaining interest is something we understand. When the interest
rates go up on our investments, we are pleased to hear that. We
believers are gaining interest in the investment made by the Father
through his Son on the cross. (I understand so little about the
financial world, I will not even try to carry this analogy any further!
I’ll leave that to my banker bonus-son!)

The next line asks if Jesus died for me,
even though I caused his pain. There is an implied answer to both
questions: Yes! It is possible that you can gain an interest in the
Savior’s blood. And yes! He died in your place even though your actions
and attitudes may cause him excessive distress.

It is great if you find the cross interesting. It is even better if you own a share in its investment.

Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Elton
Trueblood was a Quaker theologian, advisor to American Presidents,
author, and hymn-writer. This hymn has appeared in many hymnals since
its writing in 1966. Because it is in the standard 8.7.8.7.D meter, it
has been set to many tunes over the years.

Like
Trueblood’s powerful voice among American theologians of the 20th
Century, this single line jumps out from the hymn text which is itself a
powerful prayer for the church to sing corporately.

It
might be said that we are people of great faith but small vision. We
verbalize how much we rely on God’s leadership and direction, but often
we shy away from casting our vision beyond the commonly-held parameters
of the world-wide church, our own denomination, our local congregation,
or our small circle of Christian friends. No doubt some of the greatest
sacred ideas – visions, if you will – have gone by the wayside because
the person to whom they were revealed was reluctant to carry them
through… to lay them out before others as a viable option for furthering
the kingdom. Perhaps they were shared with a few, disparaged
(pooh-poohed), and set aside.

I would like to not be considered a person of small faith OR small vision. I’d like to trust the Father’s wise bestowment
of kingdom plans, and (because they are truly from the Father) run
after them with greater vigor. After all, “Where there is no vision, the
people (of God) perish.” (Proverbs 29:18). And likely, some of us are
withering due to our self-imposed limited vision of what God wants to
accomplish in our personal lives and in the greater kingdom.

Monday, October 30, 2017

This coming weekend, we will have an hour transfused into our lives
by the great timekeeper of the earth. I have to admit that I am not a fan of
the semi-annual resetting of the clocks. If a presidential candidate would make
the abolishing of spring-forward, fall back his/her major platform issue, I
would cast my vote on their behalf whatever party they might represent. Well, maybe not!

Down deep, I think it must be an economical ploy to give me
one extra hour of daylight from March through October to spend money!

Every year at this time, we are told that we have an extra
hour to sleep, probably because officially this this donation of sixty minutes
comes to us at 2:00 am. Most of us are probably awakened by our body-clock at
the same time anyway, so we ended up with an extra waking hour instead. And
because it always falls on a Saturday night into Sunday, our additional time is
part of the holiest day of our week. So theoretically, we have an extra hour to
invest in the worship of God, the sharing of our faith or service on his behalf
to our fellow human beings – those activities and attitudes to which we are
drawn on Sundays.

God is not thrown off by this human-induced attempt to make
the sun stand still. Since the Most Holy One never naps, doses or sleeps, he is
just as available during our gift-of-hour each autumn. His watchcare is active
no matter how many time increments our days may be expanded. I’m glad about
that: imagine if for one hour each November, God’s presence in our lives were
suspended. As absurd as that may sound, it should give you pause.

How ever many hours I have in this day or any other day -
with this century-old hymnline, I daily ask for God to stay nearby… so near
that I will sense his presence in such a way that his nearness will affect my
thinking, my decision-making and my actions.

“O ever-present One, I need you every hour. Stay close at
hand because I know that the temptations I face today will be less powerful
when you are near. Amen.”

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Why
is it that those sins which were long-ago forgiven… canceled by the
eraser of God… why do they continue to have power over us and haunt us?
They lurk in the back of our subconscious memory and surface now and
then to almost take us hostage? For some reason, we have not fully
grasped the reality of forgiveness… even those of us who have known
about it our entire lives, have heard multiple sermons and studies on
the subject, and – best of all – have experienced it over and over for
ourselves.

There’s a weird little verse in Isaiah’s
woe-listing that says, “Woe unto them who draw iniquity with cords of
vanity and sin as it were with a cart rope.” (5:18) I often quote it
when called upon to say a particularly meaningful scripture passage; it
gets great puzzled looks from everyone in the study circle! These are
they who cannot let go of their sin; in their vanity, they drag it
behind them as if attached to them by a rope. It’s a great picture of
those of us who will not accept the gift of God’s forgiveness; it is too
often a picture of ME!

Imprisoned by guilt? It’s time for a break-out.

Better
yet, it is time to accept the Governor’s “pardon”! The One who governs
the universe is concerned with your freedom. God wants to set you free…
and his truth can do that! The truth is: you are forgiven of all you
have submitted for absolution. Get over it. Let it go, let it go! Cut
the tugging-rope you have too long dragged behind you. Walk away a freed
man/woman.

Monday, October 23, 2017

Have
you ever turned to someone you admire for having come through a
difficult time or whose life is just one trial after another and said to
them “What’s your secret?” You don’t mean it is a secret as such; you
mean “How do you do it?”

This hymn draws a picture of
walking along a road… or through a meadow… or up a mountain trail with
Jesus – just the two of us. As we walk, I have the wherewithal to turn
to him and ask, “What’s your secret?” or “How do you do it?” Knowing
that his humanity brought with it bearing up under the strain of
difficult days and might have included fretting over the cares of this
world… ultimately dying a cruel death at the hands of enemies. What IS
his secret?

We figure that if we understood how HE did it, we could do better ourselves as we face rough spots, trying times.

Some
of you will remember a song from the early 1950’s called “It Is No
Secret.” That song is all about how there is no secret to WHAT God can
do in Christ; this hymnline asks HOW did the Son of God hold up under
the human struggle that was his to bear.

This is
somewhat of a mystery, but as we delve deeper into the life of Christ
and look at how he reacted and what he said, we have a better
understanding of the secret of his success. When we study his teachings
and try to get at the crux of the matter, we are more likely to find a
pattern for facing our own struggles in a Christ-like manner.

It
may be that Christ will lean over and whisper hope to us. If and when
he does, we welcome that voice that makes our heart in its sorrow
rejoice.

Hear an A Cappella Singing of This Hymn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=WXwXQnsaL3A

Thursday, October 19, 2017

I’m using a hymnline that is also the hymn-title and the hymn-tune name!

Many
of us grew up hearing George Beverly Shea (the tune’s composer) croon
this song on the televised Billy Graham Crusades. No one has – or ever
will – sing it quite like he did!

The upshot of this hymn is simple: I’d rather have Jesus than you name it.

There
is not much else to be said about the hymnline – there is much to be
said about our application of its truth to our actual hierarchy of
priorities and how we in reality live those out in our daily lives. In
other words, as I sing this hymn, am I being truthful? Or am I simply
verbalizing someone else’s testimony? Worst of all, am I singing a lie?

This
is often true of hymns we sing corporately: preferring Jesus over
anything is a noble goal, perhaps not yet achieved in my own life.

It’s
a question we all have to deal with on our own while not being
judgmental of anyone else down the pew. It would be great if we could
all sing the final line with all sincerity and commitment: “I’d rather
have Jesus than anything this world affords (offers me) today.”

Tuesday, October 17, 2017

I’ve never been much of a singer. For someone who loves to
sing as much as I do, you’d think
I would have been afforded the gift of beautiful vocalization. Fortunately, I
had other musical gifts that were applicable to my forty-plus years of music
ministry; unfortunately, many congregations expect their music leader to be a
top-notch soloist.

As I was growing up, I don’t think we sang this hymn; at
least, it never registered with me or attached itself to my memory like most of
the old songs did. When A. L. (Pete) Butler’s setting of this text was
published as an anthem in 1967, it became one of my favorites… and years later,
he became one of my mentors. His tune has been included in many hymnals since,
making it available to congregations to join the singing of this sturdy,
well-married tune for the Fanny Crosby text.

For me, I am always drawn to this hymnline: “I sing, for I cannot
be silent.” I have no choice but to sing… I can’t just stand there while the
love of Christ is the theme of everybody else's song. My lusty, not-so-wonderful raspy
baritone voice may draw questioning looks from people down the pew, but that
will NOT mute me. I can NOT be silent. I have to sing when the Spirit says
“Sing!”

Paul McCartney has a song “Gotta Sing, Gotta Dance.” It’s
not exactly a church song, but it does apply to my discussion. I join him in
polishing up my tonsils because I’ve gotta sing!

While I am all for the sounds of silence in worship; for me
as a contemplative, they are imperative to my finding God. Remember, I’m an
Elijah-type. I’m sure God enjoys those lengths of absolute breathless silence,
but when we rear back and sing – breaking the silence – I imagine a wide smile
crosses his face.

That’s why I love this hymn. That’s why I sing no matter
what anyone around me thinks about my intoning talent. “I sing, for I cannot be
silent! His love is the theme of my song.”

Monday, October 16, 2017

Often
considered a children’s song, this simple hymn can message us no matter
how old we are, especially those of us whose entire life has been
inquisitive at best… nosy at worst!

It seems as if this
is worded like early elementary students might speak when sitting on
the floor in their Sunday School class or gathered in a family setting.
It may be simple-speak that makes this such an appealing hymn, familiar
to most Christian denominations. I’m pretty sure it’s the simple-speak
that appeals to me!

There are so many questions I have to ask Jesus when face to face I shall behold him far beyond the starry sky.
I would write them all in composition books if I thought we could take
them with us on that journey. I want to know why boys and girls couldn’t
swim together at youth camp when I was a teenager – why sometimes they
even had separate pools! Or why my home pastor mowed the parsonage yard
in his white shirt and tie. Or why did God allow someone to invent
shrink-wrap that makes everything (especially CD’s) so hard to get into.
Obviously, it’s the spiritual answers I’m after!

However,
THIS hymn is our asking another human with more knowledge of the Bible
to fill us in on the details of the earthly life of God’s Son. But we
all have questions about our faith that seem to have been redacted from
the Canon. Those are the things I’d like to ask Jesus if he were here.
I won’t list my own queries; I’ll let you fill in those blanks for
yourself. We all want to know more than we’ve been told… but THAT is
part of the holy mystery of the faith. If we had all the answers, we
would become arrogant and even snobbier than we are! We’d be singing
that playground ditty, “I know something you don’t know” as we bully our
way through life.

I agree with Paul here: “I want to
know Christ.” (Philippians 3:10) The more I know about his life, the
more likely I am to get to know him personally – just like it is with
all my closest relationships.

So tell me everything you can about Jesus. Inquiring minds want to know!

Friday, October 6, 2017

We have no idea who wrote this hymn, but it continues to be
sung with some regularity in churches who still sing the sturdy texts. I like Laurie
Klein’s chorus “I Love You, Lord,” but it doesn’t come at the subject with quite
as much intensity or from as many directions.

This is one of those hymn-lines which needs no further
discussion: it says what it needs to say and is poignant on its own. I will, of
course, expound upon it… like preachers who continue to sermonize on those
straight-forward scriptures.

While teaching a children’s song years ago, I discovered an
easy way to remember the nine fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23: the
first three are one syllable (love, joy, peace), the next three are two
syllables (patience, kindness, goodness), and the final grouping has three
syllables each (faithfulness, gentleness, self-control).

These nine attributes pretty much get at how we best express
our love – how we demonstrate our commitments. (If you’ve heard me do a
wedding, you’ve likely heard me use this passage.) While they are not all what
an English teacher would dub “action verbs,” they all imply ways in which we
act out that which is becoming our nature.

In the NIV, Paul summarizes this section with “Since we live
by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” (v. 25)

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways,” said Elizabeth
Barrett Browning. To refresh your memory (speaking of English teachers!), here’s
that full sonnet:

How
do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I
love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My
soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For
the ends of being and ideal grace.

I
love thee to the level of every day's

Most
quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I
love thee freely, as men strive for right.

I
love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I
love thee with the passion put to use

In
my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

I
love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With
my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles,
tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I
shall but love thee better after death.

“I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can
reach… freely, purely, with passion.” How profound is that? How appropriate to
our understanding of how our actions can dramatize our love beyond the
footlights of our everyday strutting and fretting our hours upon the stage.

How much do you love Christ? How can your actions show it?
Take to the stage and act it out. Start today. Places everyone. Five minutes to
curtain.

Hymnlines - Hemlines: Get it?! :)

About Me

A native of Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, went to high school with Dolly Parton... and am still friends with her sister Stella who was "most talented" with me in our graduating class of 1967! Was a Southern Baptist for most of my life,am currently affiliated with Cooperative Baptists. Have worked in Baptist and Presbyterian churches - basically consider myself a Baptiterian!

Love words (texts). Am a published hymn-writer, anthem-text writer and composer. Into live theater, museums and antique stores. Enjoy good movies and PBS dramas.

Married to Carlita - Two bonus sons: Dustin,and Clint and his wife Sherry with our two grandsons Kyle and Carson who just happen to live close by!